The lawsuit claims that Monroe's rental property restrictions are unconstitutional

In response to an ordinance issued earlier this year prohibiting any person or business in the town from holding more than three rental properties, the Town of Monroe could face a jury trial.

According to The Times Herald-Record (bit.ly/3OmmJnZ), the town was sued on July 7 in the United States by an unspecified number of limited liability organizations that hold more than 20 rental properties in Monroe.

District Court for New York’s southern district In the case, which accuses Monroe of many constitutional violations in connection with changes made to the municipal ordinance on February 6th, only one person, Pamela Lee, was named as a member of those corporations.

In addition to the three rental property restrictions and other recent changes to Part II, Section 40 of the town code also outlawed the occupancy of bedrooms by more than two individuals and made it illegal for the number of parked vehicles to exceed the number of bedrooms present.

The lawsuit, which calls the new law “arbitrary and capricious,” accuses the town of violating the 14th Amendment of the Constitution, which forbids taking away anyone’s fundamental property rights without giving them a chance for due process, by failing to provide a fair means of challenging the new statute.

Because the plaintiffs already had agreements in place with tenants at more than three different properties, the complaint alleges that the town violated the Fifth Amendment and the Constitution’s contract provision.
Additionally, it lists the Fair Housing Act as being broken when a bedroom is only allowed to hold two people.

The plaintiffs are requesting that the statute be declared illegal and in violation of the Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments of the Constitution, and that the municipality and its representatives be prohibited from executing the law.

Additionally, they seek punitive damages, court costs, and any other relief the court deems necessary, in addition to just compensation of at least $7.26 million to be decided in a jury trial. Supervisor of the Town of Monroe Anthony Cardone did not immediately react to a question about the situation.